Traditionally, law enforcement or public safety agents responding to a distress call access a commercial building by presenting their credentials to security personnel, if present, upon arrival to the building. Their credentials may be a shield or other form of identification. Similarly, they may access a residential home by presenting their credentials to a resident upon arrival to the home. In some instances, the appropriate uniform may alone be sufficient to gain access to the secure premises. In the event that security personnel, the space owner, or other individual with access are not present, law enforcement or public safety agents must find another means of entering the building or home, including forced entry. This often slows the response time of these emergency personnel and causes damage to the physical structure. In the event that security personnel are present to receive the law enforcement or public safety agents, a quick display of their shield or other identification is typically sufficient to gain access to the building. If the shield is stolen and the individual presenting it is not the rightful owner, unauthorized individuals gain access to what was intended to be a secure space.
As the focus on security continues to intensify, complex security systems protecting buildings render the buildings “intelligent”. Access to intelligent buildings becomes increasingly difficult for law enforcement and public safety agents, and traditional methods of gaining access to spaces protected by these security systems become impractical, if not impossible. For instance, a secure commercial office building or apartment complex may require law enforcement or public safety agents to pass through a number of secure doors to answer a distress call. If security personnel, the building owner or manager, or some other individual with access are not present to permit access, law enforcement or public safety agents must resort to forcible entry. Given the size of such building structures, multiple doors must be broken down, thus causing extensive damage and slowing response time, perhaps too much. Even if security personnel are present to permit access, manual verification of law enforcement or public safety credentials and subsequent manual entering, e.g. unlocking numerous secure doors using multiple keys, may again result in an untimely response. Likewise, unauthorized access is a risk, whether by individuals having wrongful possession of the credentials displayed or by individuals whose authorization does not extend to a particular building or is not effective at that particular time.